Business And Conflicting Goals

The case study explores how the owners of a Sandwich Kiosk business were able to meet both their goals as a husband-and-wife team while increasing income and reducing the burden of running a small business.

David Page was a firefighter who loved his work. That said, he was getting older and wanted an exit strategy that would give him and his wife an income and a shared interest. He decided to start a small sandwich café business. He planned to run the business and continue working as a fireman. Although he had no formal business training, he learned the sandwich business quickly and had so much success he opened two new locations quite quickly.

Problem

As the business flourished, David increasingly relied on his wife, Beth, to manage many of the day-to-day operations. Beth did a great job working tirelessly, often until late at night. Inspired by his success, David wanted to grow the business further and open more kiosks. Beth said a firm “no”. She was stretched to her limit and was unable to take on more responsibility.

The husband-and-wife team knew they needed a new business plan. They contacted their Accountant for guidance.

Solution

The Accountant realized they needed to create a plan that would deliver two equally important outcomes:

• David needed a solution that would grow the business without the need for him to commit more time to managing it.
• Beth needed to limit or ideally shrink her responsibilities.

The Accountant decided that a franchise model would fit the bill. David would set up and sell kiosk locations one at a time. The sale would give them an income without the burden of having to manage the new businesses.

The Accountant then focused on Beth. They worked together to create a position description, KPIs and key selection criteria for a new role that would report to Beth. This person, when hired, would assist Beth and allow her to reduce her working hours.

Benefits to the Clients

The strategy worked. David soon found buyers while Beth was able to reduce her workload to 40 hours a week. The couple earned more money than they had ever imagined and they loved the challenges and rewards of running their small family business.